Taking your retirement early in chunks

Today I am in no mood at all for writing this blog (too much on my mind with my day job and other things) however I know that if I don't I will be really upset with myself. So here I am, lunch break just beginning and I'm going to try and bash one out for last week in an hour. As it were.

As usual I cannot remember last week at all. Things did happen, which will probably come back to me as I type and ask A for reminders. The main thing about last week was the day job entering an incredibly stressful stage which has really affected my whole week. It is only four weeks now until we're on the way back and this means that my options are massively limited. I have to keep earning now and ideally I should be trying to negotiate for my remote working when I eventually go back in June. I'm feeling the pressure of everything though.

Finally eating the Bounty

On a lighter note I finally ate the Bounty Bar which A bought for me all those weeks ago. This happened on Monday and it was momentous enough an occasion for me to get A to snap a picture of it for me.

I had a load more deliveries come through for the trainset this week and also S and S's yoga mats were delivered. The packing is going to be done and completed in two weeks time, on the Sunday after we go to my parents for the meal with my Dad's side of the family and also to pick up the kitchen. Before we head down that weekend we'll need to have Harrison emptied and so I need to work out where the planks are to be stored. I was hoping they would fit in the shed but they are an inch or so too long. This means they will have to go into the dining room and be stacked up there; the house will be quite crowded with both three piece suites in, and the planks, and all the other boxes which we are collecting to take back. I hope I can manage to get some help for that Sunday else it'll be a really tiring day for me.

Flowers starting to appear in our garden

My parents had spotted over the weekend that some snow drops were starting to flower in our garden. I walked home on Tuesday thinking I would like to take a picture of them and found that A had already been out that day with the camera to do so. Great minds and all that. The garden continues to be a real bonus of this house and more and more I find myself staring out the kitchen window watching the birds come down to feed on the crumbs that we put out for them.

Other than being stupidly stressed due to work I have spent a lot of time reading the past couple of weeks. The title of this blog refers to the series which I am deep into right now. It is written by a chap called John D MacDonald and has a character called Travis McGee who works when he runs out of money, and then retires to cruise on his boat and enjoy his retirement while he can. This really struck a chord with me this week and weekend as it is exactly what I am doing; I will work when I have to but otherwise I want a simple life that I can enjoy before I get too old to be able to enjoy it. Anyway, I'd recommend the books - I'm onto about book 12 now and they have yet to become repetitive to an annoying level.

A with Pip

Thursday night I was picked up from work by A and we headed over to the airport for our flight to Belfast as the weekend of "meeting the folks" had come round. The flight was easy and short and priority boarding was excellent as always and we were picked up by her parents and the dog for the drive back to their house. Here is A with Pip jumping all over her and being very excited to see her. Pip was very friendly in the car but when we got to the house she herded me inside with a lot of care; she's a funny little thing but very cute.

Dawn chorus of Crows

Friday morning the alarm call was unnecessary as the crows from up the hill come coursing down to gather on a tree across the road and shout and scream for half an hour before heading out for the day. To be fair I much prefer that way of being woken up and I headed out with camera to get a quick snap shot, with the moon behind. Of course just as I did this they all started taking off so the picture isn't the best. This has been the alarm call every morning during our visit. I was working from Belfast on Friday and so sat at the dining table all day while people came and went around me. We went out for lunch in town at a pub which was really nice and the portion was so large I had no desire to eat anything else at all until breakfast the next day. We headed over to A's nans on Friday evening for a little while which was lovely; she's a great woman and made me feel very welcome as well.

We were back in time for the rugby on Friday night and sat and watched England beat Wales (cue massive celebration) which made me very happy indeed. I had to be slightly reserved as Pip wasn't ready for my shouts and punching the air and didn't really like it. Saturday morning there was no chance of a lay in as we were up to go shopping then meet up with A's nan and mum for breakfast in town. Scrambled eggs on toast with bacon went down very well chased by tea and then we were off back to the house to relax before the Ireland game. I was supposed to be typing this up but it never happened and I just read. The games on Saturday were slightly less exciting than the England game but I watched them both until we had to leave for our meal in the evening.

Meet the family

This was at the local and was very nice; I had been told about the special (sirloin stuffed with bacon and onion stuffing) and so I had to go for it and it was a good choice. Once again I was over-faced and managed to finish it all however I could not get any dessert down me at all. After the meal we headed to the other bar and the sixth Guiness took me past the point of wanting to sleep and when I got home I was in bed and sparko pretty much immediately.

Looking across the clearing of the hill fort

Ancient road between two fields

Sunday was our lay in and I took advantage of it, though I couldn't really sleep after A got up and lay there reading and dozing and reading and dozing. When I finally got up I found that the weather was lovely and A wanted to go for a walk so off we went, up the road and up the hill to the place where the crows sleep. There is a hill fort at the top which we made our towards; it is incredibly well preserved with steep banks and a deep ditch all the way around. It is incredible to think that this was lived in a thousand years ago.

Misty Mountains of Mourne

When we got back to the house for breakfast we sat for a bit and then headed back out for a drive. The weather was so lovely that neither of us wanted to sit around. A drove us over towards the east coast and the Mountains of Mourne which were just beautiful and as lovely countryside as you'll find anywhere in the world. We wound our way through country lanes for quite a while enjoying the scenery.

The sea between the dunes

Eventually we reached the coast and parked in a large grassy flat area with a cafe next to it, then made our way over the boarded path through the massive sand dunes towards the beach. We were all wrapped up warm but the sun was actually quite strong and so I removed my scarf and undid my coat to cool down; what a lovely day to have in early February.

Dozing in the sun

We walked along the the beach, which was half sand and half stones, for a way dodging people and dogs and then got to a place where A decided she wanted to stop so we went up to the edge of the dunes and sat for a bit. After a while I lay back and dozed as I was pretty tired and A sneakily got a picture of me. It was really relaxing to lay there and if there had been no other humans for miles it would have been even better as the peaceful sounds of birds and surf were continually interrupted by shouting kids and barking dogs. Oh well.

A dead jelly fish

There was one particularly annoying family group stood by the edge of the water just near us who had a badly trained dog which kept harassing any other dog that came past. They were kicking something just in the water and eventually we saw it was a dead jellyfish. Stay classy, people. Kick the dead creature. When they finally went away A went to get a snap of it and said it was huge so when I finally roused myself I went to look and she wasn't wrong.

Fortresses along the coast

We made our way slowly back towards the car and went into the cafe for a drink and a bite to eat. As we were waiting to be served a walker came in to tell the staff that a lady had slipped and broken her ankle on the stones. This caused quite a stir and an ambulance was called. It also slightly delayed our service but no matter. Once we had eaten and drunk it was back into the car and we took a lovely scenic route along the coast towards Belfast city. All the way we went past old fortifications and towers that would have protected the land from invasion by sea. Every one is better maintained than anything I've seen in England. We stopped several times to take pictures and admire the buildings. As the time got on we headed towards Belfast as we were meeting one of A's friends for the evening. I dozed off the car and felt much better for it; I think I hadn't realised just how stressed and tired I had become with worrying about work.

We had some food in a pub near where A used to live, having been driven through some of the less pleasant areas of Belfast including seeing some of the murals from the troubles that are still there (though one had been vandalised which shows that things have certainly changed). Dinner was nice and the evening was even better; it was great to sit and chat for a couple of hours with such old friends of hers.

And so now it is Monday and we're flying back to England in a few hours so I'd better wrap this up and publish it. Thanks for reading.